EXTRA 2: Lay’s POV

  "Mommy!"

  The woman in front of me turned with a radiant smile, her warmth filling the room like sunlight through a window.

  "Yes, sweetie?"

  I ran into her arms, giggling with pure joy.

  "I love you, Mommy!"

  She lifted me up effortlessly, wrapping me in her embrace. Her ughter rang out softly as she kissed the top of my head.

  "And I love you more, little princess!"

  "Hehehe, no! I love you twice as much!"

  …

  That was one of my most precious memories.

  I was five years old.

  It was also the st good memory I ever had with my parents.

  Everything after that… became a haze of pain, loneliness, and disappointment.

  I don’t know when it changed exactly, but somewhere along the way, the warmth in their eyes turned cold. Their smiles faded. I stopped being their beloved daughter and became nothing more than a tool for their ambitions.

  And yet… I still hoped. If I just worked harder, if I just proved myself, maybe they'd love me again.

  So I gave everything.

  I poured my time, my energy, my childhood into studying. I did everything I could to make them proud.

  And in doing so, I pushed everyone else away. Friends faded. I isoted myself completely. But it was worth it, wasn’t it?

  It wasn’t.

  No matter what I did, it was never enough.

  The more I tried, the more they looked at me with disdain.

  And as the years went by, their words became daggers:

  "Why can’t you be more like your cousin?"

  "Why did we even have you…?”

  "Maybe she was switched at birth. No child of ours could be this stupid."

  "Honey, did you cheat on me? At least that would expin how useless she is."

  I heard it all. Over and over.

  Even as I fell short of their impossible standards, they still forced my path forward. They used their influence to buy my success.

  But that only made things worse.

  Not only was I alone, now I was hated.

  They called me a cheater, a fraud, I was bullied, mocked, rejected.

  I thought of ending it all, so many times.

  But I couldn’t. Maybe I was too weak. Or maybe… Some part of me still clung to hope.

  Eventually, when I became an adult, I broke free. I cut them off. I fled far away to find a life of my own, somewhere near someone I could trust.

  It was time to live for myself, not for them.

  It hurt to admit it, but the parents I had once loved were gone, and those happy memories were just fragments of a broken past.

  But fate… fate wasn’t done with me.

  Just as I was about to begin again…

  The apocalypse happened.

  Maybe it was a message. A final, cruel joke.

  Was this the universe telling me to stop trying? That there was no pce for me? That all my suffering had been leading to this, a meaningless end?

  I was injured. I couldn’t walk properly. And as chaos erupted, I watched others run, not one person even looked back.

  I screamed, I begged.

  Nothing.

  No one helped. No one ever had.

  So I sat there, abandoned and broken. Maybe I should just give up? This might just be my faith.

  And yet…

  I wanted to live.

  I wanted to live!

  Why?! Why was life so unfair?!

  I gave everything I had, and in return, I got nothing. Nothing but suffering.

  And now I was supposed to die alone in the dirt?

  No.

  No!

  I sobbed, my voice hoarse from screaming, my fists clenched and my body trembled, not just from pain, but from rage, from the refusal to let this be my end.

  This wasn’t right. This wasn’t fair.

  But, as always, my struggle was for nothing, I was ready to give up...

  Until…

  As I lost all hope… someone found me.

  A boy around my age appeared.

  I cried for help, not expecting anything. Why would he be any different?

  And yet… he helped me.

  Why?

  I asked, sure, but everyone else had run. Everyone else left me to die. Why didn’t he?

  Even with monsters closing in, he refused to leave me behind. His hands trembled, but he set up a trap, crafted from nothing. And it worked, he killed the creature.

  They were kilble?

  He was strange, half the time, he looked completely lost in his own thoughts. I’d speak, and he wouldn’t even hear me. But he stayed and he expined things I didn’t understand, a strange system, like some kind of video game.

  I’d never pyed one before, I never had the time. It was all foreign to me and yet, the moment I gained my ability, it felt… Right. Like I had recovered something I was always meant to have.

  Elian.

  He was different.

  No one had ever helped me without asking for something in return. No one had saved me without knowing who I was but he did. He didn’t ask and he didn’t judge.

  Was this fate? A second chance?

  I had failed at everything in life. But maybe, just maybe, if I stayed by his side… I could finally be happy...

  And the power I awakened, it felt so natural, almost like moving my own arm. Was I talented? Could I be useful?

  I could protect him.

  Yes. That was it.

  He is my second chance.

  I just know it, If I stay with him, I can change my life.

  Time passed. We went through trials after trials together. Danger waited behind every shadow. I didn’t always understand why Elian kept going outside, even though he could barely handle monsters on his own… but it didn’t matter.

  I’d protect him. No matter what.

  He had a pn, I could feel it. And knowing the name of his ability, Creation, I knew he was different.

  He couldn’t stay weak, not with a power like that. I didn’t know how it worked, but if he pushed it to its limit… what could he become?

  Meanwhile, I kept watching people die. Strong monsters kept appearing, stronger than before. I tried everything, but I couldn’t upgrade my ability after reaching 100%. I started wondering…

  Was I not as talented as I thought?

  Sigh.

  Still, I kept going, we kept going.

  When Elian finally found his path, I felt pride swell in my chest. But of course… fate wouldn’t let that st, It never does.

  Happiness barely had time to settle in before despair hit again.

  Why? Why is it that every time something good happens, something worse follows?

  Was I cursed?

  Would they die because of me?

  No, not this time.

  I didn’t care if the enemy was a god. I finally found something precious, someone worth fighting for and I would protect him.

  Even if it cost me everything.

  I would not let fate decide my future again.

  I succeeded.

  Tears ran down my cheeks, burning hot. I’m alive, Elian’s alive.

  I’m sorry, Larry… but I did it. I protected him, I defeated fate. And for the first time, I felt something I hadn’t in so long: pride.

  There’s no more doubt. This is the path I’ve chosen, and I’ll follow it without anymore regret. Then came the first phase, I understood immediately: I need more power.

  Elian needs me now more than ever, and I won’t let him down.

  Eventually, I reached the level required for the tower. Cra and I had advanced at nearly the same time, so we went together.

  We were the first after the battle freak, of course, to attempt to challenge the tower of evolution.

  The path to the tower was brutal, just as Will had described. But UNLIKE him, we went in prepared. As a group, strategically. And so far… it was going well.

  Now comes the real test. Time to see what I’m truly capable of.

  …

  Haa… haa… haa…

  I colpsed to my knees, panting hard.

  I had expected the trials to be intense, but this was on a completely different level. I felt like I’d been torn apart, pushed to my limit in every possible way, mentally and physically.

  It was as if the tower had analyzed my soul and forged challenges designed to test every part of me.

  But somehow… I endured.

  Through the pain and the fire I endured.

  Still, I learned a lot. The trials gave me ideas of what I could become. How I could grow and how I could protect.

  But for now… I was exhausted.

  When it finally ended, I stood before a glowing interface, listing multiple css options. I had done well, high enough to unlock several paths. Will had probably gotten more, of course, but I wasn’t here to compare.

  I scanned the list slowly, some of them were interesting.

  But then I saw it.

  The one.

  [Fmeborn Valkyrie]

  [Description: A warrior blessed by the will to defy fate and born with extreme potential. She fights not for glory, but to protect the one light in her life with the fire in her heart. When those she loves are in danger, her strength soars beyond mortal limits. Her fmes yearn to shield and to destroy, ignited by love and fury.]

  Perfect. A smile broke across my lips.

  This was it, the path that reflected who I wanted to become.

  The moment I made my choice, a surge of energy tore through my body. My limbs trembled. Heat spread from the center of my chest, wrapping around me like a second skin.

  Fmes danced along my arms, not burning, but becoming part of me.

  I was changing, becoming stronger and sharper.

  No… more than that. I felt like I wasn’t just human anymore. At least not entirely.

  And it felt… Normal?

  The interface expanded with new information. My css granted me heightened mastery over fire. The stronger my will to protect, the fiercer my power would become.

  To advance further, I’d need to do three things:

  Protect the one I had chosen.Deepen my mastery of fme.And overcome fate itself.

  Easy, right?

  I let out a shaky breath, half ughing, half crying.

  Alright… time to go back.

  Elian must be getting worried.

  But he doesn’t need to worry anymore.

  He’s the reason I burned my weakness to ash, and I won’t let fate touch him again.